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Disorganized? Frazzled? No time to spare? Making even the smallest changes in your daily routine could make a big difference in your life (and put extra cash in your wallet!). Organizing expert Regina Muster shares her favorite simple yet effective organizing and time-management techniques.
Shopping
- Plan your weekly meals when preparing your grocery list. By planning what you will be serving for the week, you will know exactly what you need to buy and can check off what you already have. This can prevent you from buying items you do not need. Then you don't have to think about what to have for dinner every night when you arrive home, just glance at your weekly menu.
- Grocery shop only once a week. Keep a list handy for what you need. If you run out of an item, place it on your list. Review sales at your local supermarket when you are preparing your grocery list, not while you are walking down the aisles. Keep supplies on hand so you do not need to run out for one item at the last minute.
- Always carry a shopping list. When you go into a store, you are at the advertiser's mercy if you do not have a plan. They aim to get you to spend money and to entice you to buy things you probably do not need. Following a well thought out list and not deviating from it should keep you from straying too far off your budget.
- Do shopping on your way home from work. Grocery shop, pick up a birthday card or hunt for that special outfit on a weeknight on your way home from work. If you make it part of your route home, you do not have to go out of your way. By doing this, you are saving the time of making a separate trip. Stores are generally less crowded closer to dinnertime and on days at the beginning of the workweek.
- Attend to all your errands in sequence by location. Before you leave your home, think about all the places you must stop. Decide on a travel route that will pass each place, and what direction you intend to travel. Start your errands at the stop furthest from your home and work back towards your home.
- Place your order by phone or Internet beforehand. You save time if you place your order ahead of time and then pick it up. By having your order ready at the store, you will save time by not having to wait for it. You can save money by not buying additional items that catch your eye, just because you are there. Many drugstores will let you call in prescriptions and many stores have websites that allow you to pre-order.
- Get your postage on the Internet. What could be more convenient than printing postage from your computer? The U.S. Postal Service offers software-based postage solutions that can be downloaded on your computer and used for all mail classes with the exception of periodicals. Just log on to www.usps.com, set up an account with an authorized vendor and you will be able to print postage on envelopes, labels or plain paper at your desktop.
- Find creative and affordable ways to delegate. Even if only occasionally, find ways to delegate as many chores or errands as possible; have the newspaper, groceries or dry cleaning delivered, order stamps by mail, share running local errands with a neighbor or hire someone to clean your house if you can afford it.
Paper
- Set up a good filing system. Most people waste time trying to find a particular paper or a bill that must be paid. Having similar items grouped together in a specific spot saves the time of having to search through endless stacks of paper for what you need. By creating and maintaining a good filing system, you will be able to find what you are looking for in a short amount of time.
- Set up model letters for forms. To avoid duplicating what you have already done, keep a copy of letters and forms you have created and may need again on your computer. Instead of spending time re-inventing the wheel, use what you have already done as a model for what you now need to create.
- Never create a miscellaneous file. If you create a file labeled "miscellaneous," you will be tempted to place too much into it. When it comes to paper: read it, sort it, decide on filing it or throw it out as soon as it touches your hands.
- Sort bills by the date they are due. If you pay your bills by mail, sort bills by the date they are due and print the date they are due on the envelope to alleviate having to look through all of your bills to see which ones need to be paid first. Think about online bill payment or auto-payment by credit card.
Daily Activities
- Have a plan set up and ready to follow. Whether it is merely a daily schedule or a well thought out financial plan, having one ready for you to follow allows you to go right into action. You save time by not having to figure everything out from scratch.
- Do not allow things to pile up. Whether it is paper or clothes or bills, the worse thing you can do is let them pile up. Not only will the pile keep growing larger, but it will also become a monumental task for you to sort through. Being organized allows you to control "build-up."
- Do what you say you will do. You are not really following your schedule if you postpone and procrastinate on a regular basis. It is your responsibility to commit yourself to actually perform the tasks you have planned for yourself. Keep your word and be on time so others do not have to wait for you. If you say you will do something, actually do it.
In the Car
- Use your time to digest some good books. If you have a long commute or deal with lots of traffic during your morning and evening commute, it can get boring. Listening to books on tape that you either buy or borrow from your local library will fill up the time enjoyably and wisely.
- Use a hands-free headset to make calls. If you use a hands-free headset and keep your concentration on the road, you can use your commuting time to make some work-related or personal telephone calls.
- Keep a tape recorder in your car. Use a tape recorder to remember things you forget and cannot jot down. If you pass an item for sale on the road or a house for sale that you are interested in, record the phone number of the real estate agent or seller and later call to check the price.
- Get a GPS in your car. The use of a global positioning system in your car will assure that you will never get lost. GPS is a satellite navigation system that gives directions to drivers on display screens and through synthesized voice instructions. Once you set a destination, it plans a precise route to get you there, thus saving you time.
Excerpted from Don't Agonize, Organize! by Regina Muster. © 2006 by DNA Press, LLC.
